Still think filters are an easy, failsafe solution? Read this.

Guess what everyone! Survey says that Almost 75% of Americans believe that people should be allowed to express unpopular opinions. There now, doesn't that make you feel much better?

Times are tough all over, it seems. It wasn't that long ago that New York Public Librarians were celebrating a pay raise that got them closer to being able to live on their salaries. Now they are facing massive budget cuts. "Especially hard hit have been literacy programs, instruction for those who do not speak English and services for the disabled." Ugh.

You should read this article on Libraries, Books, and Academic Freedom.

Well, I did try to post here before I left on vacation last week, really I did. But Blogger was down, and I was headed for a blissfully technology-free week, so what can you do? Sorry to all my legions of fans for leaving you darcysworld deprived for so long :)

Michael and I just got back from a trip to Spokane, Washington. Overall, it was a relaxing trip. We visited Lake Couer d'Alene a couple of times, went kayaking once, drove out to the Bowl and Pitcher in Riverside State Park, and managed to just take things a little slower. Of course, spending time away from Florida is a little difficult for both of us, as each time we leave it gets harder to come back. I'm really hoping something will come through job-wise up north soon, before we both go insane.

Speaking of which ... my ego took a bit of a blow today when I saw that one of the jobs I'd applied for in Ontario has be re-opened. I'm not quite sure what the etiquette is on re-applying for a job you've been rejected for once, but I figure they can only say no again, so I'm going to craft another cover letter and try again. I'm also going to break my Canada-only rule and send in an application to Oregon State, where there are multiple positions open.

Here's a rather thought-provoking Harry Potter story from the Boston Phoenix, picked up from the L.A.C.K. newsblog.

Before I went on my trip last week, I had the pleasure of attending a masterclass held by Anahid Sofian. We spent the morning on Turkish-style movesto the Chefitelli rhythm, and the afternoon dancing with veils. The day went by really quickly, and it was a lot of fun, even if a few of my muscles did protest a bit afterwards! Anahid herself was a little unexpected--this tiny little lady that looks like someone's grandmother yet could shimmy, undulate, and spin the rest of us into the ground! She's definitely an expert. The Turkish style she was teaching us is quite different from the things I usually do in class--much more uptempo and "bouncy," for lack of a better word.

That's all you get for now. I'm still jet-lagged and needing to unpack and buy groceries!

So.....Google's not perfect. Who knew?

If you'd like an ironic web experience, click on over to From Thinkers to Clickers: The World Wide Web and the Transformation of the Essence of Being Human. Don't tell them I sent you.

Well, I was already having a really depressing day before I read this article on MSNBC. Hunting for Bambi is likely a hoax promoting a pornographic video, but the fact that anyone would be interesting in purchasing it, or in booking one of these "hunts" like many people have reportedly tried to do, is in my mind a really pathetic statement about the state of our supposedly "enlightened" society.

Haven't posted much about my life lately but that's mainly because so much of it seems so blah. I really don't know what's up with me lately. I'm feeling tired and full of ennui all the time, with no energy to to much of anything, even activities I enjoy. I have little to work on at the library, but I feel constantly burnt out, and my days off don't seem provide any relief. I'm also making really embarrassing slipups like forgetting about doctor's appointments and other meetings. Today, for example, I was registered to go to a SEFLIN technology conference, and I totally forgot about it until I was heading out the door for my usual evening shift at the library. I don't think my supervisors are going to make too big a deal about it, but it's not too good for the professional reputation, and it's not the first time lately I've forgotten changes to my schedule--just the most obvious one. It's almost getting to the point where if someone doesn't call and remind me of what I have to do, I forget. Don't know what's going on in my brain, but I wish this fog would lift already...

Noted on lisnews: Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickeled and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America is being attacked by North Caroline Senators as "intellectual pornography." Whatever.

I think everyone using IE should try the Beta version of the Google Toolbar, which actually blocks popup advertising windows.

Hey, guess what? Librarian Avengers is back! Surf over and check out the reasons why you should fall to your knees and worship a librarian.

Does the world really need a librarian action figure?

Well, well, well. Seems that A.S. Byatt has actually had the temerity to question the reasons grownups read Harry Potter, as well as the series' literary merits. Really now. How dare she question the growing infantile/regressive aspect to modern adult culture? Personally, though I have read and enjoyed the Harry Potter series myself, I found Byatt's well-written article to be a good criticism, accurate on many points, and quite relevant to a society where grown men and women vacation at Disney, furnish their entire home with Hello Kitty merchandise, and play with Lego. Not everyone agrees, of course, including Charles Taylor at salon.com (my apologies if you have to sit through the adverts to get to the full article).

This seems to be the day for coming across references to weird body modifications. First, msn has an article about people who are voluntary amputees, then I find the book Pagan Fleshworks, then a link to the not-for-the-squeamish Body Modification ezine, complete with articles and photos for everything to tattoos to tongue splitting to urethra displacement. Is it just me or are subcultures getting weirder all the time?

Yet more articles on CIPA and internet filters. Pierre Tristam of the news-journal online feels they insult his intelligence. Mary Gooding found that her anti-filter articles were themselves blocked by the software. Aren't we glad we have the goverment to protect us from these things?

Meanwhile, msn's career section has an article on what to wear for an interview that I find mostly ludicrous. I'm going to lose out on a job because I dared wear an outfit I bought last year, or, heaven forfend, and ankle bracelet?? Brown is a "suspect colour" for business purposes??? Whatever....

I'm glad to report that, after a totally demoralizing dance class last week, this week's class was much better. We were still having to improvise, with veils and zills simultaneously, all the while giving our instructor "structured" dancing, but the music was easier to dance to and I didn't look like quite such an idiot. I have to admit that after last week's class I was so embarrassed that I was actually reluctant to go back yesterday. However, now I'm glad I did. Our instructor is still bugging all of us to sign up to dance solos at their monthly dance performance parties; I'm not there yet but maybe in a month or two...

A lttle something passed on to me by a Canadian colleague, about the new land of the "free".

And while we're at it, how's this for a revealing quote?

The government uses research funding as a carrot to induce people to refrain from speech they would otherwise engage in. If it were a command, it would be unconstitutional."

Read the full context, full of other little "gems" like that, "here.

Woo hoo! Strike one for free scientific information!

I stumbled across an article in The New York Times this week about Blogs in the Workplace. Seems it's not just for slackers anymore...

In a weird bit of Weekend Reading Synchronicity, I finished the book No Logo and started Jennifer Government on the same day. Warning: trying this at home may lead to extreme cynicism.

The Friday Five was tailored for librarians last week, I see:

1. My favorite childhood stories were fairy tales, no question. Though in the ones like Robin Hood, I always wanted to be the male characters instead of the female ones.
2. My Treasuries of children's stories and children's poems, as well as just about anything by Alan Garner and Susan Cooper. For older kids, my favorite YA novel, The Changeover, by Margaret Mahy.
3. I'm not usually surprised by the early childhood stories, but I am often surprised by what I missed in books I read and loved as an older child or early teen. For example, a religious relative gave me a book for christmas called Crispin's Castle. It was, of course, about a young boy finding God, but when I read it as a child (and I read it multiple times), that aspect did not seem prominent to the story. When I went back to it as an adult, I saw that Crispin's conversion was in fact central to the story. Don't ask me how I missed that...just goes to show how much the act of reading is informed by the needs of the reader, I suppose.
4. I started to read before I started school, thanks to extremely literate parents and a healthy dose of natural aptitude. The first thing I clearly remember reading on my own was an Exit sign in a store. I was, I think, around 3.
5. The first "grown up" books I remember reading was the first 13 books of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. They passed for really sophisticated literature at that stage...I was in grade 4 or 5 I think, so say somewhere between 10 and 12.

Finally, click over here for news on the technology that could resurrect the medieval Chartres library.

Okay, this is too funny, and you all have to try it: point your browser to Google. In the search box, type weapons of mass destruction (no quotation marks). Then instead of hitting "Google Search," choose the "I'm feeling lucky" button. Read the page carefully....Go ahead, try it!

So, which crime would you think carries the longer sentence? Beating your wife, or spitting on a police officer?

Think again.

And then you can read some veeeery interesting revelations about the late Senator Strom Thurman.

"When did intellectual curiousity become a scourge to Congress?"

Good question.

Here's a couple more stories illustrating just how well filters work.

Happy Canada Day to all you Canadians out there! Check out the status of celebrations on the Hill with their Web Cam.

Michael and I are back from Toronto. We had a pretty good conference all told, though the placement center was disappointingly small and I did not find a job. Or even a good job to apply for, for that matter. I did get my resume critiqued, though, as well as some ideas from the session about alternative careers for MLIS holders. I have seen more postings coming up on the CLA and FIS sites, so hopefully it will not be too long before something comes up.

Overall the conference was hectic but good. I got to see quite a few people from library school days, and some of the speakers were really good. There were some big names for the opening/closing/president's program sessions, including Gloria Steinem, Rex Murphy, Ralph Nader, and Naomi Klein. The last two in particular were especially interesting; I'm reading Naomi Klein's book, No Logo, right now. I hoped to see one of my favorite authors, Charles de Lint, too, but I missed him! He was only there for part of one day, and I visited Tor/Forge's booth the day after. Oh well...

On the whole, we seemed to hit the ground running on Friday night and hardly pause for breath until we got back on the plane to go home. Besides the big talks, I attended sessions on publishing, intellectual freedom, reference service, and library history. We had a day and a half after the conference ended for sightseeing, which we spent exploring downtown Toronto. We visited the St Laurence Market, and had a facinating tour of the CBC buildings--we saw the reference library as well as the radio and television studios, including the set of The National. Michael visited the Hockey Hall of Fame and picked up a couple of souvenirs. We were thinking of taking a day tour to Niagara Falls, too, but we had to leave that for next visit.

It was great to be able to get around on foot again--I haven't walked so much in a long time! It was also refreshing to be back in a city that takes recycling and public transport seriously. Hard for us both to face coming back to Ft Lauderdale, really.

Just a quick note to say that after a very uneventful flight, Michael and I are in TO safe and sound. We got in too late to register for the conference today, so we've pretty much just been wandering around downtown Toronto, orienting ourselves with directions to the hostel, the conference sites, etc. Plus we went to a really good Greek restaurant for dinner.

Already we are finding that the climate change makes us both feel more energetic and much more at home. No sweltering heat...no disgusting humidity levels...ahhh...

Anyway, hopefully I'll find the time to post a couple more times while we're here. Send some good jobfair vibes if you can, please! :)

Well, after writing my first, very amateur, review for my movie page, I can see that it's not all that easy to do well. I hope you'll all bear with me as I figure out how to create a good one!

An interesting story on msnbc today about the changes the war has made in the life of an Iraqi bellydancer. Having read about the proclivities of Uday Hussein, I have to say I don't envy her her gigs at his parties, no matter how many times she says he's a nice guy...

Noted on lisnews.com: The Guardian reports on a monastic book theif.

Two more days to Toronto! I'm getting excited about the trip, and nervous about the job fair. I don't like to pin all my hopes on one event, but at the same time I really hope that I find at least a lead or two while I'm there. Don't know if I will be able to find the time or the hardware to update the blog while I'm at the conference, so there may not be much added here until after I get back.

In other news, I plan to add some more content to this site. As you can see from the top navigation bar, you will soon be able to read reviews of books I've read and movies I've watched. I've noticed this is a common feature of other blogs, so I thought I'd join the crowd, so to speak.

Addendum for today: Take that!, Tim LaHaye!

A depressing theme to my news this morning. I heard an interview with the author of Honor Lost: Love and Death in Modern-Day Jordan on NPR's Morning Edition on the way to work. Norma Khouri used to live in Jordan, and she had a close friend who fell in love with a Christian man. The friend dated the man in secret, and when her father found out, he killed her for shaming their family. Apparently, Khouri herself had to run away from Jordan, as she was in danger of being murdered by her own family for helping the couple meet in private. Then, while looking at the daily news on the desk, I ran across this story on CNN about an Egyptian woman who, fearing her husband would make good on his threat to kill her if she had another baby girl, drowned herself after giving birth to a daughter. The sad thing is, while I don't know all that much about Islam, even I know enough to know that many of these supposedly religiously-based actions and attitudes are actually neither proscribed nor endorsed by the Koran. So before one even gets to addressing the possibilities for equal treatment of women within Islam, one has to disentangle what is actually Islamic from a whole host of violently misogynistic tribal beliefs and practices that the leaders of these cultures simply do not want to give up. All in the name of "resisting Western influence."

But is equal treatment for women really only a "western" value? (I'll leave the question of the true state of Western women's equality and safety within their culture for another time.) Would allowing women to be people rather than chattel really be un-Islamic? Did Mohammad want women to be treated like children, or be secluded within the house for their entire lives, seeing so little sunlight and getting so little physical activity that their bones get soft and their health suffers terribly? Are Eastern values really about women getting mutilated by their mothers, beaten by their fathers and brothers, and killed by their husbands?

I don't know. It's just sad to see a culture that has so many beautiful aspects and such an interesting history enshrine and normalize such terrible practices.

You can't see it from your end, but Blogger has a new user interface, LoFi. And honestly, I liked the old one a lot better! They say I'll be able to override the automatic redirection to this application soon...the sooner the better, I say.

I got a call from the director of Sweeney Todd this weekend ... offering me a role in the chorus. I turned it down. I would have had to make major adjustments to my work schedule, and taken focus away from dancing and jobhunting, and it's not worth it just for another chance to be The Tall One Standing In The Back Hitting The High Notes. I had enough of the window-dressing-for-the-divas routine in Edmonton Musical Theatre, thank you very much.

I read the latest about the latest cuts to funding for upgrades to my old High School in the Edmonton Journal today. Vic was supposed to be the "Julliard of the North," but I don't know if it will make it at this rate.

Did you know that Canada has one of the highest UFO sightings rates per capita? Delve into the weirdness with the CBC's Special Report

And, in the Only In Alberta department... Darlene Heatherington and UN investigations of Provincial labour laws.